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13 Jenna Smith Class: Senior Hometown: Bloomington, Minn. High School: Kennedy High School Height: 6-3 Position: Center

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Jenna Smith

AT ILLINOIS
2008-09 - Junior: Named first team All-Big Ten by both the coaches and media for the second consecutive year ... Was third in the Big Ten in scoring (18.5 ppg) and blocked shots (2.0) and sixth in rebounding (8.6) ... Led the conference and ranked fourth in the nation in minutes per game (38.7) ... Scored double-figures in all 31 games and ended the season with a streak of 39 consecutive games in double-figures, the fifth-longest streak in the nation at season's end ... Set the Illinois career blocks record on March 1 against Minnesota and ended the season with a career total of 161 ... Broke her own single-season blocks record with 63 ... Had 10 double-doubles on the season, including eight in conference play to rank second in the Big Ten ... Led the Big Ten in offensive rebounds (3.39) and minutes played (39. 44) in conference play ... Finished her junior season ranked fourth on the UI career rebounding list with 830 and fifth on the career scoring list with 1,545 points ... Named to the 50-player Naismith Award Watch List ... Played and started in all 31 games ... Selected to the Big Ten All-Tournament Team, averaging 23.5 points, 7.0 rebounds and 2.0 blocks in Illinois' two games ... Surpassed the 1,000 point milestone in season opener at IPFW, scoring 29 points ... Passed the 1,500 point milestone in the Big Ten Tournament, becoming just the third Illini to reach that total in less than three seasons ... Led the Illini to an upset win over Indiana on Jan. 25 with 24 points (9-of-14 shooting), 15 rebounds and three blocks ... Had a double-double of 18 points and a season-best 18 rebounds against Iowa on Jan. 15 ... Just missed a double-double on Dec. 20 against #2 North Carolina, scoring 20 points and pulling down nine rebounds while also blocking three shots ... Averaged 20.7 points and 6.3 rebounds in the Illini's three games in the Cancun Caribbean Challenge from Nov. 26-28, scoring 19 points against Montana, 22 against South Dakota State and 21 against Maryland ... Named the team's MVP and Most Inspirational Player and also won the Ralf Wood Free Throw Excellence Award at the postseason awards banquet.

2007-08 - Sophomore: Associated Press Honorable Mention All-American ... Named a Regional Finalist for WBCA All-America Honors ... Named first team All-Big Ten by both the coaches and media (unanimous selection by the media) ... Played and started in all 35 games, leading the Big Ten in minutes played (37.3 per game) ... Named the team's Most Valuable Player ... Had 59 blocked shots on the year to break the 25 year-old Illinois single-season blocks record of 57 ... Earned a spot on the All-Big Ten Tournament Team after averaging 17.3 points and 9.3 rebounds while carrying the Illini to the championship game ... Fell one rebound shy of breaking the Big Ten Tournament rebounding record of 38 set by Purdue's Stacey Lovelace in 1996 ... Led the Big Ten with 16 double-doubles on the season ... Scored 20+ points a Big Ten-best 14 times and 30+ points three times, which ranked second ... Finished the season ranked second in the Big Ten in scoring (18.3) and rebounding (9.4) ... One of only eight players in the nation to average at least 18.0 points and 9.0 rebounds per game ... Scored in double figures in 34 of 35 games on the season and held a streak of 28 straight games in double digits that was snapped on Feb. 24 vs. Michigan ... Hit 11-of-26 from three-point land for the season (.423) and 5-of-7 behind the arc in the Big Ten Tournament (.714) ... Three-time Big Ten Player of the Week - the first Illini to earn the honor three times in one season since 1985-86 ... Named MVP of the FIU Thanksgiving Classic after leading Illinois to the tournament title ... Set a new school record by hitting 13-of-13 from the free throw line against Providence on Nov. 25 ... Scored a career-high 32 points on Nov. 18 vs. SIU, the most by an Illini since 2001 ... Had career rebounding best on Nov. 9 at EIU with 19 boards, the most by an Illini since 1989, including 10 offensive boards.

2006-07 - Freshman: Played in 30 games, starting 22 at center ... Honorable Mention All-Big Ten and Big Ten All-Freshman Team selection ... Led all Big Ten freshmen in rebounding for both all games (7.8) and conference games (8.5) ... Led the Big Ten in offensive rebounding in conference games (3.60) ... Broke the UI freshman rebounding record (233) and tied the frosh blocked shots record along with fellow freshman Lacey Simpson (39) ... Had six double-doubles on the season, including four during Big Ten play, which led all league freshmen ... Grabbed a season-high 16 rebounds at Indiana on Feb. 18, which was the second-highest single-game rebounding total in the Big Ten in 2006-07 ... Ranked third among Big Ten freshmen in scoring (11.1) ... Led Big Ten freshmen in FT percentage (.767) and ranked second among league rookies in FG percentage (.514) and blocks (1.30) ... Ranked third in the conference in overall rebounds (8.5), seventh in blocks (1.27), eighth in defensive rebounds (4.87) and eighth FG percentage (.489) in Big Ten games ... Swatted a career-high five shots at Wisconsin ... Netted a season-high 22 points on 9-of-11 shooting vs. Florida on Dec. 5, while also grabbing 10 rebounds for her first career double-double.

HIGH SCHOOL
Was the 69th-ranked senior in the class of 2006 by Blue Star Report and was listed as the No. 24 center in the class by All-Star Girls Report ... Named Minnesota's Ms. Basketball and Associated Press Player of the Year after leading Kennedy to a 30-2 record and runner-up finish in the Class 4A State Tournament as a senior ... Also named Minneapolis Star-Tribune Metro Player of the Year ... Averaged 20.5 points, 10.2 rebounds, 3.6 blocks and 3.3 steals per game and also shot 55 percent from the field, 47 percent from the three-point line and 74 percent from the free throw line for the Eagles ... Blew up for a career-high 37 points vs. Minneapolis Henry and had a triple-double vs. Lakeville South (25 p, 11 r, 12 b) ... Averaged 20.3 pts. and 9.9 rebs. as a junior in 2004-05 while leading Kennedy to the Class 4A State Championship with a 28-2 record ... Named first team All-State, All-Metro and All-Lake Conference as a junior and senior ... Was third team All-Metro and first team All-Conference pick as a sophomore after averaging 16.7 pts., 9.5 rebs. and 4.5 blks. ... Holds the Minnesota career record for blocked shots ... Also played for the Minnesota Sugga Storm AAU Team under coach Willie Tyler.

PERSONAL
Born July 25, 1988, in Des Moines, Iowa ... Majoring in community health ... Daughter of Frank Smith and Gigi Gilbert ... Has one brother, Frankie ... Enjoys shopping, watching movies, and spending time with friends ... Biggest thrill in sports is experiencing the feeling of a close game going down to the wire ... Also played soccer at Kennedy H.S. ... Received the Regional ATHENA Award in 2006 ... Chose Illinois over Minnesota, Iowa, Iowa State and Nebraska.

GETTING TO KNOW JENNA...
Nickname: JJ or J
Why Illinois? I liked the coaching staff and the players that were here. They got to know me on a different level. I love the college campus and how everyone supports the athletes.
Favorite Place On Campus: My house because I can hang out with my roommate Chichi and just be able to have time for myself. Another place that is quite fun is hanging out with Diane Hobin in her office!
Best Memory As An Illini: The Big Ten Tournament run my sophomore year. Another great memory in my sophomore year was seeing the seniors shine on Senior Night against Purdue. They were all excited!
Favorite Coach Law Quote: "Come out of yourself."
What I've Learned From Coach Law: When you are weak and want to quit, you push through the pain. You really find out what you are made of when times are tough. You look outside yourself and push for a bigger reason.
Favorite Athletes: Chauncey Billups, Seimone Augustus, Diana Taurasi, Kevin Garnett, Dwayne Wade
Favorite Fighting Illini Athletes: Chichi Nweke (soccer), Ashley Wright and Ashley Conrad (softball)
Favorite Sports Teams: Boston Celtics and Minnesota Lynx
Favorite Movies: The Proposal, Love and Basketball, The Notebook and any I Love Lucy movie
Favorite TV Shows: I LOVE LUCY!, The Hills, The Game, Tiny & Toya, As Told By Ginger, Hey Arnold
Favorite Singers: Ne-Yo, Musiq Soulchild, Lil Wayne, Chris Brown, Trey Songz, Maxwell
Favorite Meals: Mac & cheese. Anything with cheese. CHIPOTLE! Not a picky eater.
Favorite Activities Outside Of Basketball: Hanging out, relaxing with my friends, being active, bowling
Something Most People Don't Know About Me: I love cheeeeeese! Everything I eat has to have lots of cheese.
Pregame Superstition: I do the Mikan drill and have to have three different kinds of gum. Also, I talk to my parents on the way to every game.

SMITH'S CAREER STATISTICS

		Minutes		Total			3-Point			F-Throws			Rebounds
Year	gp-gs	min	avg	fg	fga	pct	fg	fga	pct	ft	fta	pct	off	def	tot	avg	pf	fo	ast	t/o	blk	stl	pts	avg
2006-07	30-22	800	26.7	130	253	.514	1	3	.333	71	92	.772	88	145	233	7.8	56	0	55	42	39	18	332	11.1
2007-08	35-35	1305	37.3	239	475	.503	11	26	.423	151	194	.778	104	225	329	9.4	66	0	71	92	59	37	640	18.3
2008-09	31-31	1200	38.7	220	464	.474	4	24	.167	129	161	.801	95	173	268	8.6	77	1	57	86	63	34	573	18.5
TOTAL	96-88	3305	34.4	589	1192	.494	16	53	.302	351	447	.785	287	543	830	8.6	199	1	183	220	161	89	1545	16.1

updated November 2009